Emma woke up early the next morning, literally up with the birds just as dawn peaked the horizon. She looked over at Regina; she saw her calm face and the rise and fall of her chest. The blonde smiled as she traced the other woman's face with her eyes, studied every crack in her lip, the subtle scar there, she counted her lashes and the worry lines and beginnings of crow's feet around her eyes.

She smiled… genuinely smiled for probably the first time in her life. She finally had reason to smile. She had a kid who was healthy and smart and beyond imaginative. She had friends, real friends, true friends… not people she knew that owed her favors, not acquaintances… Friends. And she finally found what she'd been looking for her whole life. She finally found love.

Granted, she'd have never guessed that her love would end up being the adoptive mother of her son, the mayor of a small town, and a complete bitch. She never would have thought that she would completely and utterly loathe the person she loved until one day… she didn't… That was a good day too…

They had been fighting about Henry, so the day was progressing like any other day. Emma brought him home an hour after Regina told them to be home. Emma told Henry to go get ready for bed and go to sleep because they were gonna have a 'little chat'. She had been staring at the brunette mayor the entire time, and it had been in that moment that she realized that none of her feelings were hate, they were actually all positive and she had just been projecting them negatively.

They walked to the mayor's office and Emma sat calmly as Regina ranted on and on for literally half an hour. The blonde just sat back and watched the brunette; she didn't hear over half of what she was yelling about because she knew she'd heard it before anyways. She sat there and studied her. She studied her mannerisms and compared them to past events. When she realized she was being asked something, she looked at the brunette in her eyes, "Well…?" She huffed and placed her fists on her hips.

Emma looked at the carpet, licked her lips and stood up. She walked the few feet over to the brunette and stared at her. Then she started moving closer, and Regina stepped back cautious.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Will you just let me try something?!" Emma asked exasperated.

Regina nodded slightly and swallowed hard as the blonde moved in closer. Just as their lips were centimeters apart, she felt her hand move then heard a slapping sound and felt her palm begin to sting. She looked at Emma to find her face turned to the side and a red handprint beginning to form, "I am so sorry!" She gasped and covered her mouth.

"If you weren't gonna let me kiss you, you could have just said 'no'." Emma said as she rubbed her cheek.

"I didn't mean to do it! I-I-I-I-I mean I didn't know that was going to happen… Please." She asked Emma to try again.

This made Emma feel a little arrogant as she leaned in again only to be slapped once more. "Jesus!"

"I'm sorry! I don't know why I keep doing that!"

Emma then looked at her with determination and grabbed both of Regina's wrists then wrapped them around the woman's back so that she was holding her. She wasted no time as she leaned in a third time… fireworks.

Literally Emma had never felt anything like it before. She let go of Regina's hands and wrapped her in a tighter hold. The brunette's hands moved to Emma's face again, but there was no more slapping, only sweet, apologetic caresses.

They had eventually made their way upstairs, but Emma was not allowed to spend the night. She'd known that Regina was a little 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' but that had been ridiculous… Soon their fighting about Henry were masked arguments about where they were going in life and Emma's intentions. It all led up to the night before.

She came to the mansion just before Henry was going to bed. Angry, Regina let her read to him until he went to sleep. Emma walked down the hall to the darkened room of the mayor and walked inside to find the brunette's back to the door. She shut it quietly and took her boots off as silently as possible before stripping down to her skivvies and getting in bed with her.

"Just what do you think you are doing?" Regina's voice was not laced with sleep, only anger and a bit of curiosity.

"Sleeping, Regina. I'm sleeping." Emma wrapped an arm around Regina's waist.

"You are not. Not in my bed."

"Yes. I am. And yes in your bed."

This made the brunette turn around in frustration, but before the woman could speak, Emma captured her lips and kissed her with all the love in the world.

"I love you, Regina. I'm not going anywhere. You think I'm going to leave because of the seven states thing…" Regina looked away from her, "I'm not leaving. I have been searching… that's why I moved around so much… I was searching. I'm not searching anymore."

Regina looked at her, "Because you've found what you're looking for."

"Yes."

"And that was?"

"A real bitch that's fucking gorgeous and is the mother of my son apparently." Emma smirked.

"I am not a bitch." Emma raised a brow at her words, "Not to everyone… not to you anymore…" She snuggled into her.

"Not to me when we're not in public."

"I must keep up pretenses, darling." Regina smirked and kissed Emma's neck and sighed as she felt sleep coming quickly.

Emma laughed, "What happens when they find out we're together and our pretenses are no longer needed?" she looked down to see Regina almost asleep… this was usually when she'd kick her out.

Regina sighed and spoke sleepily, "Then I suppose it will be all the better for everyone…" She yawned and spoke changing the subject a bit as she gave into sleep, "I know you though you were making this decision, but it's actually mine. Stay with me tonight."

Emma heard the birds chirping again and came out of her thoughts. She looked down at Regina again and saw the woman's eyes flutter, "Good morning." She smiled as she leaned down and kissed her.

"Good morning." Regina smiled as she continued waking from her slumber. She stretched and yawned then looked at Emma who had this goofy grin on her face, "What?"

"You let me spend the night." She grinned as she started to get up.

"So, you're leaving before Henry is awake anyway?"

"Hell no!" Emma turned to look at her as she jumped into her jeans, "I'm gonna make breakfast."

"You're… can you cook?"

Emma pursed her lips, "I'll figure something out." She shrugged and made her way to the door. "You stay here… take a bath or something… I'll come get you when I'm done."

Regina did her best to listen to the blonde and take a bath and wait for her… but with all the banging she'd heard to begin with and all the scenarios running through her head, she couldn't help but worry. She heard a loud clang and her son yell then finished tying her robe and hurriedly made her way to the kitchen, praying that there still was a kitchen.

When she got there, she saw Henry digging into fluffy, perfectly golden pancakes that were covered in fruit, syrup and whipped cream creating a smiley face. Then she saw Emma tossing another pancake in the air while simultaneously checking on an omelet.

Emma smirked over at her surprised expression, "Pancakes or omelet?... Or both?"

"What is this?" Regina asked in disbelief as she glanced over to their son again.

"Breakfast… First meal of the day… Said to be the most important… I told you I was making it…?" Emma knit her brows then looked at Henry like she was crazy.

"And you led me to believe that you couldn't cook…"

"Did I?" Emma smirked as she flipped the pancake onto a plate and finished with the omelet.

"Yes…" Regina walked over to her and watched her work.

"Well… I cook a little… Sometimes I cook a lot." She shrugged and looked at the brunette, "Pancakes or omelet or both?"

"Mmm, pancakes." Regina spoke quietly as she glanced over to their son to find him studying them intently.

"Henry?" Emma asked as she followed her girlfriend's concerned eyes to their son.

"Emma?" He looked from his mother to her and spoke in the same tone.

"You okay with me hanging around a while?" She asked him in a tone that told him the exact reason she'd be 'hanging around.'

He took out a piece of paper and a pen from behind his back and looked at it. He smirked as he wrote a quick something, got up, put his plate in the sink and turned to them, leaving the piece of paper on the table, "Yup." He said as grinned at them both then left.

They knit their brows at each other. Emma turned the burner's off and handed Regina her plate while she put the omelet on another and they walked over to the table.

They sat down and Regina picked up the paper then laughed.

"What is it?" Emma looked at the brunette questioningly.

"It's a checklist…" She started reading, "Bring real mom here. Check. Convince her that she's the savior. Blank. Save the town from mom. That's scratched out." She looked at Emma then turned back to the checklist, "Get mom and Emma together so that Emma saves mom from mom." She looked into the blonde's eyes, "Check."

Emma grinned as she dug into her omelet then leaned back as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, "Regina, I tell you what… I'm a phenomenal cook." She smirked and watched Regina close her mouth around her forkful of pancake then close her eyes.

"Indeed, Sheriff… you are."

"Now, now… there's no need to get formal." Emma grinned and leaned in for a kiss, "I mean… I've saved you from you apparently, that's totally a first name basis event…"

Regina laughed and nodded. She leaned in and kissed Emma again. During the kiss she cut herself a bite of Emma's omelet and when the kiss broke, she wasted no time shoving it in her mouth.

"Hey!" Emma knit her brows then stole a bit of pancake, "See if I ever attempt to make you breakfast again!"

"Now, now, darling… Of course you'll make me breakfast again… If you don't, I won't do that thing with my back that you like…"

"You play dirty, babe…" Emma smiled, "But, all's fair in love and breakfast, I guess."